Updated HAN Issued for Uganda's Sudan Ebolavirus Outbreak

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update yesterday as a follow-up to a HAN Health Advisory (CDCHAN-00477) focused on the recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Republic of Uganda.

As of November 5, 2022, a total of 132 confirmed cases of EVD have been identified in Uganda, with a 39% case fatality rate.

The new HAN Update (CDCHAN-00480) serves to inform public health departments, public health laboratories, and clinicians in the U.S. about the ongoing outbreak of EVD in Uganda caused by the Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV).

As of November 8, 2022, no suspect or confirmed EVD cases related to this outbreak have been reported in the United States (U.S.) or other countries outside of Uganda to date.

Travel volume from Uganda to the U.S. is low, and there are no direct flights from Uganda to the U.S.

Since October 7, 2022, U.S.-bound air passengers who have been to Uganda in the last 21 days are being redirected to five U.S. airports where they undergo entry health screenings as part of a layered mitigation approach that, in combination with other public health measures already in place to detect ill arriving travelers, are designed to reduce the risk of introduction and spread of disease in the U.S.

However, as a precaution, because of increasing EVD cases in Uganda, the CDC is communicating with public health departments, public health laboratories, and healthcare workers to raise awareness of this outbreak and the potential for importation of cases.

Given the early non-specific symptoms of EVD, all patients should be asked about their recent travel history.

EVD should be included as a differential in patients with travel to Uganda in the past 21 days who have clinical symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle, and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms, or unexplained bleeding.

If EVD is suspected, the patient(s) should be isolated in a private room with a private bathroom or covered bedside commode.

Clinicians should wear appropriate personal protective equipment and limit the number of personnel who enter the room for clinical evaluation and management.

Importantly, alternative diagnoses such as malaria, influenza, or common causes of gastrointestinal and febrile illnesses in a patient with recent travel should be considered, evaluated, and managed appropriately.

CDC’s Viral Special Pathogens Branch is available 24/7 for consultations about Ebola or other viral hemorrhagic fevers by calling the CDC Emergency Operations Center at 770-488-7100 or emailing [email protected].

As of November 8, 2022, there are no U.S. FDA-licensed vaccines against the SUDV. 

However, the WHO recently stated three candidate vaccines are under consideration: cAd3, cAdOX1, and rVSV SUDV GP.

Additional SUDV outbreak news is posted at Vax-Before-Travel.